A group of young people from across Greater Manchester have been given a unique opportunity to take part in a workshop with members of a professional ballet company.
English National Ballet welcomed five young people from the OurPass programme for a free workshop at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.
The Dance for Camera workshop allowed participants to interact with the story of Cinderella through a dance class on-stage before learning different ways of capturing movement using their everyday mobile phone. The group got creative with movement, using the inspirational location of the Palace Theatre to transfer dance on to the screen.
The workshop helps develop movement and creativity skills while gaining a wider understanding of English National Ballet and what it takes to create a dance film.
Participants in the workshop, which included young people involved in the new OurPass scheme, were also given a pair of tickets to a matinee performance of English National Ballet’s Cinderella. The workshop was organised by English National Ballet as part of its community engagement programme, which is supported by NatWest as part of the bank’s new Principal Partnership with the English National Ballet.
Khadeen O’Donnell, Head of Corporate & Strategic Partnerships at English National Ballet, said: “We are thrilled to have our Principal Partner NatWest and participants from OurPass join the Dance for Camera workshop in Manchester. These opportunities give young people the chance to engage with English National Ballet’s programme of activities in addition to seeing us perform and we are delighted to have NatWest with us on our regional tour.”
Heather Waters, Enterprise Manager at NatWest, added: “We are proud to be involved with the Dance for Camera workshop in partnership with English National Ballet which gave the participants from OurPass a truly unique experience that I am sure they will never forget.
“At NatWest we’re determined to try and create a stronger, more inclusive society – and it’s this principle that is the driving force of our new partnership. We aim to work alongside the English National Ballet to take ballet to wider and more diverse audiences, and we welcome the opportunity of sharing the joy of dance.”
